Meanwhile. Back across the plains of Rohan. The Uruk Hai were running across the plain. Aragorn, Jon, The Hound, Legolas, Sansa, and Gimli were running down the side of the Hill. The Momentum on their side. Jon now ran, desperate to see his younger sister again. "If we keep running like this, Jon. We'd have reached King's Landing from the Wall." Sansa commented.
"If I couldn't find a Horse, Sansa. I would've run down to get you and Arya to safety after Father died." Jon said.
"I wish you had." Sansa replied. "I wouldn't have gone through all that Hell. Well... I had it coming for being a rude brat."
"That's King's Landing for you. Now you know why Father didn't want to take the Job at first." Jon said.
"I wish he hadn't." Sansa sighed as she ran.
"Well, look on the bright side, little sister. You don't have to worry about King's Landing anymore." Jon pointed out.
"No. Instead, I find myself running through the Kingdom of Rohan and trying to rescue my Sister. Boy... that's something I'd never thought I'd do." Sansa said.
Jon smiled. "I'd always had a feeling that I would save Arya one of these days from something. Though, I do admit that I'd thought it would be from Bandits or Wildlings who would want to kidnap her and hold you for ransom." He admitted.
"She'd escape." Sansa countered. "You know what Arya's like." She continued to run. "Still... I'd rather be here than in King's Landing."
"Was that because of the Riot?" The Hound asked.
"What Riot?" Jon asked.
"Someone threw a Cowpie at Joffrey and he ordered everyone in Flea Bottom to be killed. I would've been... well, let's just say it was a good thing the Hound was there to save me." Sansa answered.
"I would also like to add that Joffrey told the Guards to let the People have Sansa." The Hound added.
"Well, that makes me hate Joffrey more." Jon commented.
"Well, he's in Westeros and we're here." Sansa said with a smirk on her face.
"And to think the Little Bird wanted to be the King's Wife." The Hound muttered.
"Ugh." Sansa couldn't believe she thought that at one point.
"Keep breathing." They then heard Gimli panting behind them. "That's the key. Breathe."
"They've run as if the very whips of their masters were behind them." Legolas commented.
"We're getting close." Jon grinned.
"You're not going to stop, are you?" The Hound asked.
"Not a chance." Jon answered as he looked at Longclaw by his side.
"Arya is our sister." Sansa added. "And Merry and Pippin are my friends. And Frodo also told us to watch over the others. So that's what we're going to do." She declared.
Jon laughed.
"What?" Sansa asked.
"You're starting to sound like Father now." Jon answered. And they continued to run through the night.
Later that night. Merry, Pippin, Arya were thrown to the ground. Their hands still bound.
"That was not gentle." Arya commented.
The Uruks and Orcs were exhausted as they were by the Forest of Fangorn. "We're not going no further... until we've had a breather." A Orc cried taking in rapid breaths.
The Lead Uruk agreed with that. "Get a fire going!" He ordered.
The Orcs and Uruk Hai moved towards the trees to look for fire wood.
Pippin crawled over to Arya. "Arya."
"I'm fine." Arya assured. Then she looked at Merry.
"Merry." Both her and Pippin said as they crawled over to Merry.
Merry picked up his head. Which had a large cut on his forehead. "I think we might have made a mistake leaving the Shire, Pippin."
Pippin grinned.
"I think I made a mistake head for King's Landing and sending Nymeria away." Arya said. "I wish I had just gone home and ran back to Winterfell."
"Who's Nymeria?" Merry asked.
"She was my pet Direwolf." Arya answered. "Long story." Then she looked around. "Hey, if these guys stopped, then that must mean Jon will catch up to us."
"How do we know he's not taking a breather too?" Pippin asked.
"Because I know Jon." Arya answered. "He's not going to rest until I'm safe and sound. Seven Hells. You should've seen the one time when I got lost in the woods for 4 days when I was 7. Jon didn't sleep in all that time until he found me. With... help from Father and Robb."
The Orcs and Uruks began chopping down trees. And a loud groaning noise could be heard from beyond.
"What's making that noise?" Pippin asked.
"Are you sure that's not your stomach?" Arya asked. "Or one of theirs." She nudged her head to point out the Uruks.
Merry picked his head up. "It's the trees." He answered.
"What?" Pippin asked.
"The Trees?" Arya asked. "Trees don't make those type of sounds."
"These do." Merry clarified. "You remember the Old Forest, on the borders of Buckland, Pippin? Folk used to say there was something in the water that made the trees grow tall... and come alive."
"Are you sure it's not Milk of the Poppy?" Arya asked.
"Alive?" Pippin asked.
"Trees that could whisper... talk to each other... even move." Merry added.
"That sounds exactly like the Children of the Forest." Arya though out loud. She then turned to Merry and Pippin. "The original inhabitants of Westeros. They died of ages ago, though."
"I'm starving." An Uruk said. "We ain't had nothing but maggoty bread for three stinking days." He complained as he threw the bread to the ground.
"Yeah." An Orc agreed. "Why can't we have some meat?!" Then he looked at the Hobbits and Arya on the ground. And he got a smirk on his face. "What about them? They're fresh."
The Lead Uruk turned on the Orc. "They are not for eating." He stated as an Uruk grabbed Merry, Arya, and Pippin up and away from the Orcs.
"Hey!" Arya yelled.
Another Orc came over. "What about their legs? They don't need those." He asked.
Merry and Pippin looked shocked and then they glanced at their legs.
Arya shivered.
"They look tasty." The Orc said as he walked towards the Hobbits.
"Um... have you seen their legs?" Arya asked nervously. "It's all hairy and messed up. You don't want that hair in your mouth."
"Get back, scum!" The Lead Uruk ordered as he pushed the Orc back. Orcs and Uruks both snarled at each other. "The Prisoners go to Saruman. Alive... and unspoiled."
"Alive?" The Orc asked as he walked towards the Prisoners again. "Why alive? Do they give good sport?"
"They have something." The Uruk answered. "An Elvish weapon. The Master wants it for the war."
The other Orc who suggested eating the trio, crept up with his blade.
"They think we have the ring." Pippin whispered.
"Shut up." Arya hissed.
"As soon as they find out we don't, we're dead." Merry said.
The Orc came close to the Hobbits and raised his blade. "Just a mouthful... a bit of the flank."
The Uruk turned over and raised his scimitar and swung the blade right at the Orc's throat, slicing his head off and it rolled off the Hobbits shoulders.
Arya's eyes widened as did Merry and Pippin's eyes as the body fell to the ground.
"Looks like meat's back on the menu, boys!" The Lead Uruk declared.
The Uruks all cheered, pushing past Merry, Pippin, and Arya, throwing them to the ground agains as they fought to get to the body.
"Okay... that is sick and wrong." Arya commented as they were on the ground.
But the good news was that all the Uruks were distracted by the body that the trio was clear to get out of there.
"Pippin. Arya. Let's go." Merry whispered.
"Okay. Works for me." Arya agreed. And they all began to crawl away.
But they were stopped by an Orc who placed a foot of Merry's back. Pippin and Arya rolled over to see him.
"Go on. Call for help." The Orc taunted as he squeezed Pippin's cheek. "Squeal."
"Get off him!" Arya demanded.
"No one's gonna save you now." The Orc lifted his blade to strike. When all of a sudden.
Bam!
A Speak was thrown into the Orc's back and he fell over screaming.
"Where did that come from?" Arya asked.
"There." Pippin answered.
The Uruk all turned to see the Riders of Rohan. All on Horseback. And all throwing spears at the Uruks. Their swords and axes swinging and coming in from both sides.
"Pippin!" Merry yelled.
Arya also crawled around to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. A Sword landed in front of her it thrust to the ground. "Ah!" She squealed. "That was close." She used its blade to cut her bonds.
Pippin in the meantime... watched the Rohirrim slaughter all the Uruks just like that. Bows, swords, hand axes.
"Pippin!" Arya started to run over.
Pippin rolled onto his back to see a horse rearing above him and come crashing down on him. He screamed out.
The Next Morning.
The Heroes continued on their journey to find the Hobbits and Arya. Legolas suddenly stopped running and looked back to where they had come from. The sun rising and the sky pink.
"Yeah, it's a nice sunset. Keep moving." The Hound commented.
"A red sun rises. Blood has been spilled this night." Legolas said.
"Blood?" Sansa asked. "Jon?"
"I'm sure it's nothing." Jon answered. He really hoped that Arya was okay.
Aragorn had paused to look at tracks on the ground. And he heard the thundering hooves.
"Was that Horses?" Jon asked.
"Well it's not cow feet." The Hound answered.
"Come on." Aragorn led the others as they hid from behind some rocks.
And right as they did, a large group of horses and the Riders of Rohan thundered past them over the hill.
"Who are they?" Sansa asked.
"The Riders of Rohan." Aragorn answered. "Sworn to defend the Kingdom."
"They're knights?" Jon asked. "They don't look like the ones back home. They friendly?"
Aragorn came out of hiding.
"Aragorn. Wait." Sansa cautioned. "How do we know we can trust them?"
Aragorn then called out to the Rohirrim. "Riders of Rohan... what news from the Mark?!"
Eomer was in the front. He raised his spear and the horsemen circled round and galloped back to the heroes. And they circled around them.
"Sansa. Stay close." Jon pulled Sansa close to him.
The Hound started to reach for his sword. But Aragorn stopped. "No. Don't." He insisted.
The Riders also pointed their spears at the heroes.
Aragorn held his hands up to show no ill will.
"Easy. We don't want any trouble." Jon requested.
Eomer rode through the men, and stopped right in front of them.
"What business does an Elf, 3 Men, a Dwarf and a Woman have in the Riddermark?" Eomer interrogated.
Jon kept Sansa behind him and in the center to pull her away from the spears.
"Speak quickly!" Eomer demanded.
"Give me your name, Horse Master, and I shall give you mine." Gimli offered.
Eomer got off his horse and walked up to Gimli. "I would cut off your head, Dwarf... if it stood but a little higher from the ground." He said.
Legolas quickly drew an arrow and aimed for Eomer's head. "You would die before your stroke fell!"
That caused all the Rohirrim to pointe their spears at Legolas.
"No!" Sansa cried.
Aragorn stepped between him and Eomer and held Legolas' arms down.
"I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn." Aragorn introduced. "This is Gimli, son of Gloin, Jon, son of Eddard. Sansa, daughter of Eddard, Sandor son of..."
"You wouldn't know him." The Hound said.
"...And Legolas of the Woodland Realm." Aragorn finished. "We are friends of Rohan, and of Théoden, your king."
"Please sir, we don't mean any harm." Sansa said quietly.
"Théoden no longer recognizes friend from foe." Eomer said as he took off his helmet. "Not even his own kin." He motioned the Rohirrim to raise their spears. "Saruman has poisoned the mind of the King and claimed lordship over these lands."
"Oh, that's just great." The Hound complained.
"So do you all serve Saruman now?" Sansa asked nervously.
"Never." Eomer answered. "My company are those loyal to Rohan. And for that, we are banished."
Aragorn looked heartbroken at that. "The White Wizard is cunning. He walks here and there, they say... as an old man hooded and cloaked. And everywhere, his spies slip past our nests." Eomer continued.
"We are no spies." Aragorn assured. "We track a party of Uruk Hai westward across the plain. They have taken three of our friends captive."
"One of them is our younger sister, Arya." Jon added.
"The Uruks are destroyed. We slaughtered them during the night." Eomer informed.
"But there were two Hobbits and one Human Girl! Did you see those three with them?" Gimli asked desperate.
"They would be small. Only children to your eyes." Aragorn added.
"Please sir. The Girl's name is Arya. She's..." Sansa's voice started to get full of fear.
"She's a young girl with Short Black Hair, the same size as the Hobbits." Jon took over. "You understand that I will do anything to keep my younger sisters safe."
Eomer understood. He had Eowyn to watch over himself ever since their parents died. He shook his head though. "We left none alive. We piled the carcasses and burned them." And he turned to a smoking pile behind them.
"Dead?" Gimli asked in disbelief.
Legolas looked mournfull.
"Arya..." Sansa breathed.
"No." Jon mouthed.
"Don't panic, Snow." The Hound said. "That girl is harder to kill than you think. And I think they would know if they killed a young girl."
Eomer nodded. "I am sorry." He whistled over. "Hasufel! Arod! Cadman! Daegal!" Four horses came walking towards them. "May these horses bear you to better fortune than their masters. Farewell."
Jon just stood there in silence while holding Sansa close.
Eomer put back his helmet on and mounted his horse. "Look for your sister and her friends. But do not trust to hope. It has forsaken these lands." He said to the heroes. Then he turned to his men. "We ride to the North!"
And the Rohirrim rode away.
And so Aragorn, and the Hound rode on 2 of the Horses. Jon and Sansa rode on another Horse, and Legolas and Gimli rode on the 4th Horse. And to the smoke.
"Arya's got to be alive. She's got to be alive." Jon said in frantic tones. If something bad were to happen to her. Jon couldn't live with that.
And true enough. The Uruks were piled up in a smoking pile and one's head was on a spear. The group looked in horror and dismounted.
"Arya!" Jon yelled. "Arya!"
The Hound looked at the smoke. "Bloody Fire." He said. "I hate fire."
Gimli dug through the pile and he picked up a belt.
"Gimli? Gimli what is that?" Sansa asked.
"It's one of their wee belts." Gimli answered in a hushed tone.
And Jon looked in despair. "Arya's dead..." He realized.
"No." Sansa wailed and Jon held her close. "Arya..." Even if Arya was always angry at Sansa, they were still sisters. And they both loved each other. Even if they didn't show it at times. "Merry... Pippin..." Sansa also despaired for her new friends too.
The Hound shook his head. "Poor kid." He said.
"Hiro if ab 'wanath..." (May they find peace in death) Legolas bowed his head.
Aragorn kicked an Uruk helmet. And then he screamed for the loss of his friends. "Aaaaagh!" He then fell to his knees.
Author's Note: Bit of Trivia here. When filming this scene in the Movie: The Two Towers. The Actor who plays Aragorn: Viggo Mortensen, kicked the helmet so hard that it actually broke his toe. And the scream he let out was so genuine that they kept it in the movie.
"I'm sorry, Father. I failed." Jon said as he still hugged Sansa.
"This is all my fault." Sansa sobbed. "If I had-"
"Sh." Jon hushed her.
"We failed them." Gimli said sadly.
Aragorn would've continued to mourn. But then he saw something strange. Tracks. And then he surveyed the marks of it. "A Hobbit lay here. And the other. And A Girl too.
"What?" Jon asked and both he and Sansa moved over to see what Aragorn was looking at.
Pippin screamed as the Horse thundered over him.
"Pippin, move!" Arya screamed. And Pippin had managed to crawl with Merry.
"They Crawled." Aragorn went on continued to trace the tracks. He then stood up. "Their hands were bound."
"How did you get free?" Pippin asked.
"Cut my bonds." Arya answered untying both Merry and Pippin.
Aragorn picked up a piece of rope. "Their bonds were cut and then one untied the other two."
"So are they-?" Sansa asked with hopeful eyes.
Arya, Merry, and Pippin ran away, in and out of the fighting and under a horse.
Aragorn continued to track. Legolas, Gimli, Jon, Sansa, and the Hound following.
"I knew that Girl would find a way." The Hound muttered.
"What next?" Sansa asked.
"They ran over here. They were followed." Aragorn answered.
An Orc had grabbed Merry's belt.
"The Belt!" Merry yelled. He quickly undid it, so that the Orc that was wounded on the ground was left holding it. He threw it to the ground in anger and he tried to crawl for them. "Run!"
"Sorry, pal but dinner's cancelled!" Arya yelled. And she and the Hobbits ran into Fangorn Forest.
Aragorn ran towards the Forest, the others following. "Tracks lead away from the battle!"
They all stopped running and stared at the Forest. "Into Fangorn Forest." Aragorn realized.
"She's alive?" Jon asked and hope came into his heart once again.
"Fangorn?" Gimli asked. "What madness drove them in there?"
"They must've been trying to get away from the battle." Jon answered.
"What's Fangorn Forest?" Sansa asked. "And why are you guys saying it like that? Is Arya alive?"
"For now. Hopefully." Aragorn answered.
"Well. Then our next mission is clear." Jon decided. And he looked at the Dark Forest. "We've got to get into the Fangorn Forest and get Arya, Merry, and Pippin back!"
"Well... we've got no time to lose." The Hound said.
Fangorn Forest. The easternmost remnants of the immense forest that made up all of Eriador and Calenardhon in the First Age and early Second Age of Middle Earth, but was mostly all but destroyed when the Númenóreans fell the trees to build their mighty ships and also another factor being Sauron's war on the Elves.
But now. It was used as a hiding place for Arya, Merry, and Pippin as they ran through the trees. It reminded Arya a lot of the Godswood for some reason.
"Okay. What's the plan?" Pippin asked.
"Uh..." Arya said running.
"You don't have a plan?" Merry asked.
"Hey, I'm making this up as I go." Arya answered. They all stumbled and fell over.
They had been running from the Orcs for a while.
"Did we lose him?" Pippin asked. "I think we lost him."
"Yeah. They'd have to be insane to follow us in here." Arya agreed.
They then heard a ruffling sound.
"Jon?" Arya asked.
But it was an Orc who appeared running through the trees.
"That's definitely not Jon!" Merry said.
"Oh come on!" Arya complained.
"I'm going to rip out your filthy little innards!" The Orc yelled.
"Run!" Arya, Merry, and Pippin all yelled at once. And they ran away and behind a tree.
"Come here!" The Orc demanded.
The Three continued to run away and through the Forest.
"Trees." Merry said in desperation. "Climb a tree."
"This one?" Arya asked.
"Yeah, this one. Come on." Pippin answered as they all climbed the tree.
It was fortunate for Arya that she was very good at climbing trees when she was younger. Not as good as Bran was... but she was pretty decent.
They had managed to climb and Merry looked around. To find nothing. "He's gone." He said.
Arya breathed a sigh of relief. So did Pippin.
But Merry spoke too soon. He was grabbed by the ankle and pulled to the ground. He fell on his back. Arya and Pippin looked down to see Merry fall on his back.
Merry then tried to kick the Orc away to no avail. It just made the Orc mad and go after him.
"What do we do?" Arya asked nervous. If only she grabbed a sword from the Orcs as they escaped.
"Merry!" Pippin shouted.
As he turned to the tree. He noticed to eyes on the wood looking at him. The Tree made a "Hooom!" sound. Arya saw it too. Then they both looked back at Merry. Until both their eyes widened over what they just saw.
"Pippin? Did you just see big eyes on that tree?" Arya asked awkwardly. "Or was that just me?"
"I think I did." Pippin answered. And they both turned again to see the two eyes staring at both of them.
"What was that Merry said about the trees coming alive?" Arya asked.
"Aaaaagh!" Pippin screamed.
The Tree turned its face to stare at Pippin. Pippin suddenly lost his grip and started to fall. But the tree caught him.
Arya slid down and fell on her back. And backed away from the tree.
The Orc in the meantime didn't even notice. It was too preoccupied with Merry as he raised his blade. "Let's put a maggot hole in your belly!"
But Merry then noticed the shadow of the Tree's foot over the Orc. The Orc looked up, only to see the Tree stomp on the Orc, dead.
"Run, Merry!" Pippin yelled. "Run, Arya!"
Arya didn't need to be told twice.
Merry tried to run, but the tree reached down and picked him up.
"Ah!" Arya tried to run too, but the Tree went over to her and picked her up in the same hand that held Merry.
"Let me go! Let me go!" Arya screamed as she struggled to get free.
The Tree held all three in front of him, squeezing them.
"Little Orcs." The Tree said.
That made all three stop their struggling.
"It's talking, guys. The tree is talking." Pippin commented nervously.
"Well, shut up. I'd rather not make this talking tree mad." Arya told him.
But the Tree looked already mad. "TREE?! I AM NO TREE!" He bellowed. "I am an Ent."
"A what?" Arya asked confused.
"A tree-herder." Merry clarified in amazement. "A Shepard of the Forest."
"Okay." Arya said still in all nervousness. She hadn't seen anything like this before. Well, then again. She had encountered a Balrog in Moria.
"Don't talk to it, Merry." Pippin advised. "Don't encourage it."
"Treebeard, some call me." The Ent said.
"He says he's not a tree, and yet he's called: Treebeard." Arya thought. "How ironic."
"And whose side are you on?" Pippin asked.
"What kind of ridiculous question is that?" Arya asked.
"Side? I am on nobody's side..." Treebeard answered. "...because nobody is on my side. Little Orc. Nobody cares for the woods anymore."
"What?" Merry asked. "We're not Orcs! We're Hobbits!" He pointed out.
"And I'm a Human Girl." Arya added. "My name is Arya Stark."
"Hobbits?" Treebeard asked pondering that. "Never heard of a Hobbit before. Or a Stark. Never heard of that before. Sounds like Orc mischief to me!" He accused squeezing them tighter.
"No! It's the truth!" Arya tried to protest while being squeezed.
Treebeard continued on ignoring them. His tone getting angrier "They come with Fire. They come with axes! Gnawing, biting, breaking, hacking, burning! DESTROYERS AND USURPERS! CURSE THEM!"
"Yeah! They suck! But we're not them! We've been trying to get away from them!" Arya shouted.
"Arya's right." Merry added in desperate tones. "You don't understand. We're Hobbits! Halflings! Shire-folk!"
Pippin and Arya nodded their heads.
"Maybe you are.... and maybe you aren't." Treebeard replied. "The White Wizard will know."
All three looked at Treebeard.
"The White Wizard?" Pippin asked.
Merry knew who that was. "Saruman." He answered.
"Seven Hells." Arya commented. They were going right to the person who was going to kill them.
Treebeard put them down and all three looked up at the White Wizard.
And Arya was blindsided to look at the face. "Guys? Is that who I think it is?"
Pippin looked up too. "I didn't see that coming." He said.